Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.

Data With Serena

🔹International keynote speaking
🔹Analytics & data storytelling workshops 
🔹Influencer marketing & brand partnerships
🔹Creator coaching & social media strategy

Founder

LinkedIn

✔️The Data Analytics of Diversity Inclusion and Well-being https://www.linkedin.com/learning/the-data-analytics-of-diversity-inclusion-and-well-being/
✔️ Building a Data-Driven Skills-First Workforce Strategy: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/building-a-data-driven-skills-first-workforce-strategy
✔️The Data Science of using People Analytics course: 
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/the-data-science-of-using-people-analytics

LinkedIn Learning Instructor

ABE.work

🔸Define the data strategy, both with regard to maximizing the value of technology investments in data assets & ensuring robust data management. 

🔸Provide the vision, strategic direction and overall leadership of all data and analytics initiatives.

🔸Leverage innovative technologies to transform the business model, products, and services around
data & analytics.

Chief Data Officer

PayPal

- Set VISION to lead PayPal towards an analytics-driven culture in talent decisions.  
- Reorganize and rebrand the people analytics function to create BUSINESS VALUE. 
- Redesign and continuously enhance people analytics TECHNOLOGY platform and apps to delight users. 
- Lead CHANGE MANAGEMENT to improve data literacy and analytics acumen to achieve business outcomes.  
- Redesign and lead global EMPLOYEE LISTENING STRATEGY. Evolve to continuous feedback to enable PayPal's Future of Work strategy. 
- Evaluate AI in HR Technology solutions to ensure ethical and responsible use.

Global Head of People Analytics, Visualization & HR Technology

Global Head of People Analytics & HR Technology

Purdue University

Chair of the External Advisory Council – The Data Mine

The Kraft Heinz Company

STRATEGY. Partner with C-suite to create a roadmap to advance people analytics and employee experience globally across Kraft Heinz. Re-design the employee listening strategy to shorten the cycle of data-gathering to action-planning. Translate business needs into machine learning experiments and inform new strategies on talent management, organization structures, and workplace practices.

CONSULTING. Serve as a functional expert on analytics, employee experience, and the future of work at Kraft Heinz. Consult with business leaders across the enterprise to co-create scalable analytics solutions to improve employee retention and enhance organizational capabilities. Led global team that is responsible for all aspects of people measurement and analytics across the employee life-cycle, from hire to retire. 

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP. Develop cutting-edge white papers, reports and presentations on people analytics and employee experience for a variety of audiences. Provide data-driven insight research through sharing information from internal and external sources, including articles, trends, and best practice. Raise awareness around analytics and facilitate workshops to foster collaboration across multiple P&Ls internally.

Global Head of People Anaytics

Koch Business Solutions (KBS)

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT. Established and executed the Talent Analytics vision and strategy across Koch Industries. Created a long-term roadmap for analytics as part of the enterprise-wide transformation, including identification of machine learning experiments, change management and communication strategy. Partnered with stakeholders in legal to ensure compliance with the latest global data privacy regulations.  
SOLUTION DELIVERY. Product owner of enterprise-wide analytics platform. Transformed business needs into technology requirements. Distilled data analytics into meaningful insights and strategic recommendations to drive profitable actions. Led engagement from ideation to development and through implementation phases with annual value creation of $50MM. Engaged business leaders across the enterprise to create and deploy scalable descriptive and predictive analytics solutions/dashboards to optimize talent decisions. 
CAPABILITY BUILDING. Built the cross-disciplinary analytics organization and recruit/develop functional and technical capabilities of new team members both on-shore and off-shore. Led enterprise-wide analytics bootcamp workshops and designed customer-centric, intuitive self-service tools to enhance analytics capabilities across the enterprise. 
CHANGE MANAGEMENT. Created and implemented change management strategies to maximize adoption and minimize resistance. Defined and measured success metrics and monitored change progress.

Global Talent Analytics Leader | HCM Transformation Analytics Leader

GE Transportation

VISION. Set and drove HR operations strategies for GE Transportation. Re-imagined HR services to shape a “people first” culture, increased HR accountability and provided managers direct access to improve employee services. Leveraged shared service centers to digitize HR services 
TEAM LEADERSHIP. Built the analytics team from the ground up to include the first summer intern and leadership program rotation focused on analytics within HR. Led a team of eight across multiple office locations.   
PLANNING & STRATEGY. Launched integrated people planning and embedded into business process. Created a comprehensive competency framework and skills inventories of employees in critical commercial, engineering, and manufacturing roles to inform buy vs. build decisions. Led action planning sessions with senior business leaders to include pipelining, interview templates, career maps, succession planning, training, and knowledge transfer strategy. Led P&L wide restructuring efforts and achieved $100M in cost reductions.

Leader of Global People Analytics & HR Operations

GE Aviation

CONSULTING & SOLUTION DELIVERY. Partnered with senior HR executives, business leaders, and finance to develop data-driven talent strategies to meet future business imperatives. Executed Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) across 85 sites and embed SWP in existing bi-annual business reviews with senior leaders. 
CAPABILITY BUILDING. Delivered regular “Data-Driven HR Insights” trainings globally to develop data analytics skills across the HR function, resulting in 50% increase in usage of HR data over 6 months in 2016 with NPS: 8.6/10 
TEAM LEADERSHIP. Led the People Analytics organization and an additional horizontal team of HR managers across 8 global sites

Economist | Leader of Global People Analytics

CONSULTING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Created a consistent framework for Strategic Workforce Planning across the enterprise. Designed and built Tableau dashboards on organizational health to allow P&Ls to measure and track progress.
DATA ANALYTICS. Gathered and analyzed data on the performance of people managers and employees’ expectations to improve employee experience and manager effectiveness. Identified drivers of margin expansion to create strategies to improve effectiveness of product managers across GE.

Economist | Project Manager, Strategic Workforce Planning & Analytics

Deloitte

CONSULTING. Developed data-driven business strategies, valued intangible assets in M&A transactions, and prepared for audit defense. Created proposals in response to RFPs and successfully obtained projects ($1.2M new revenue in 2014). Proactively drove projects forward and completed projects under budget. Developed and maintained client relationships in medical device, automotive, telecommunication, food, and financial services industries. 
TEAM LEADERSHIP. Led a team of 8 analysts and collaborated with economists in other regional offices

Senior Consultant

🏆 Top 15 LinkedIn Expert in Chicago 2023 (Influence Digest)
🏆 Board-Ready Leader 2022 (Profile Magazine)

As a sought-after professional speaker and accomplished thought leader, Dr. Serena Huang empowers global organizations to harness the transformative power of data and AI.

With 150+ speaking engagements since 2020, Dr. Huang has captivated audiences with her deep analytics expertise and HR strategy experience honed at industry giants like PayPal, GE, Kraft Heinz, Koch Industries, and Deloitte.

Her insights extend beyond the boardroom, as she guest lectures at prestigious MBA programs such as Kellogg, Wharton, and Haas. As a LinkedIn Learning instructor and LinkedIn influencer, Dr. Huang shares her knowledge with near 10,000 readers, including CHROs, CIOs, and CDOs through her popular course and monthly newsletter "From Data to Action".

Recognized as one of Profile Magazine's Women in Tech Code Breakers, Dr. Huang is a passionate advocate for data-driven decision-making. She empowers business leaders to unlock the value of their data, optimize talent decisions, and drive organizational success.

Engage Dr. Serena Huang as your keynote speaker and elevate your organization's understanding and application of data and AI. Her impactful insights and proven expertise will inspire and equip your team to make data-informed decisions that drive growth and innovation.

🔹International keynote speaking
🔹Analytics & data storytelling workshops 
🔹Influencer marketing & brand partnerships
🔹Creator coaching & social media strategy 


Looking for women speakers in data & tech?  

I keep hearing event organizers having trouble finding them 😑 so I've asked my network to nominate a few. 
Well, I got more than a few names (ran out of room so couldn't include everyone mentioned 😅 ).
Check them out and SAVE this post. 

If you are on this list, congratulations! Be sure to comment and reshare for visibility. 

Christina Stathopoulos, MSc 
Teodora Szasz, 
Aramide Kehinde, 
Onyinye Enyia Daniel, PhD, 
Naomi Kaduwela, 
Jayashree Venkatesh, 
Patricia Chiril, 
J. Pocahontas Olson 
Nichole Sterling 
Helen Lee Kupp
Sarah Floris, MS 
Maggie Wolff
Victoria Da Poian, 
Kimberly Babiarz, 
Dr. Rebecca Portnoff
Zanele Munyikwa, 
Nicole Carignan, 
Alice(Chen) Zhang,
Christina Fernandes-D'Souza,  
Meghan Anzelc, Ph.D. 
Sol Rashidi 
Terezija Semenski 
Kendall Ruber
Caitlin Chin-Rothmann 
Joyce L. Myers 
Fabiana Clemente  
Sadie St. Lawrence
Lillian Pierson, P.E.

People Analytics expertise:
Tomeka Hill-Thomas, PhD
Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D.
Lydia Wu, 
Meisha-ann Martin, Ph.D., 
Geetanjali Gamel, 
Megan Bickle
Donna Scarola
Preeti Lokam 
Rekha G. 
Michelle Deneau
Kalifa Oliver, Ph.D.
Heather Whiteman, Ph.D.

Ps. As Women's History Month comes to a close, if you are an ally and you are invited to speak at conferences or other events, please check the speaker roster for gender balance and YOU can help by recommending some of these women speakers to the organizer! 

[Update] Keep the nominations coming - I’ll be making a second list soon.

How I became an in-demand speaker: 


I get so many invites that I now turn down 80% of speaking requests and send the organizers names of speakers I know in my network. 

It’s NOT how I started of course so if you are looking to add speaking to your skills, like/save this post. 

1️⃣ When I was getting started years ago, no matter the size of audience, I treated every speaking opportunity as THE audition of the year.  I researched the audience. I practiced my talk and got feedback. 

↳ I made sure I delivered.

2️⃣ I became super aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I knew exactly what brought me joy and what drained my energy. There’s different formats of public speaking and I knew exactly where/when/how I shine (or not):

Keynote (30-60 min) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Corporate Training (1-8 hours) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Classroom Teaching (1-4 hours) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Panel speaker (30 min) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Panel moderator (30 min) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
MC ⭐️⭐️ 

↳ I leaned into my strengths when I considered various engagements and got a coach to continue to get even better. 
(When I watch my own talks from 3 years ago, I know I’ve gotten much better!) 

3️⃣ I showed up at prep sessions, I was on time with my slides, etc. I stayed flexible if I can help others out on a panel. My say-do is high. 

↳ I made life EASY for the event organizers so they would want to work with me again or recommend me to others.

Data With Serena™️

Photodump from Data Universe, the hottest AI & data conference in 2024! 

Thank you to DataVengers for coming to my talk “AI - the double edged sword” 🥹 + long time friend of the Data With Serena™️ community Sonali Kumar 

More pics to come along with full recap, photo credits: Kate Strachnyi Rachel Weiss Megan Bickle 

Featuring my new DATAcated Bear 😍

Is it only 10am?! 
Day 2 of Data Universe at NYC is 🔥

✅ Checked out my keynote stage - closing us out at 3:30-4:000 today!

✅ Enjoyed the Women in Data panel over breakfast and cheered Kate Strachnyi on! 😍

✅ Had a lovely convo with Jennifer Agnes about data culture and life as woman in data. 

Data With Serena™️

To whoever needs to hear this today:


You Do Enough.
You Are Enough.
You Have Enough.
You Are Good Enough.

Rest doesn’t need to be earned. 

I’ll be offline the rest of today to prioritize IRL interactions and puppy cuddles. See you tmr!

Data With Serena™️

This Barbie is tired of being the only woman on a panel discussing AI.


It was a super long day. I had been up since 5am, worked out, dealt with hour+ long commute, already had TWO events before I got on this stage at 6pm 😅.  

Kudos to everyone who braved the freezing temp to come out here in Chicago and gave us a few hours of your precious time. 

My takeaways:
❤️ We need more welcoming spaces like this 
❤️ It’s important to find more women in your tribe if you are one of the few women in the space 
❤️ Networking tip: Have your LinkedIn ready and send the person a follow up note so they remember you if you are on the job market! 

There’s a lot of women in X organizations out there and Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide gets it right. 

✅ The event organizers were super organized; ✅ Plenty of time for networking over food & drinks;
✅ The venue is gorgeous… and 
✅ There’s no hard selling from vendors. 

Do check out their events near you as a resource for growth and networking! 

Ps. If you are in the data space and want to get on more stages to speak, I’m working on something for you. 😉 Follow me and reach out if interested Data With Serena™️. 

Natalie Rubenstein Angelina Maria Leigh

Attention NYC! 

The countdown begins T-20 to taking stage at the hottest Data & AI Event of 2024. 

Two important announcements:
1. I am speaking about how to implement GenAI in the corporate world on the Business Strategy & Transformation stage on Apr 11th - Don't miss this session with real world examples. 

2. I am hosting an exclusive pre-event "Dinner and Data With Serena™️" on Apr 9th for Data Universe attendees who are coming to my session. Comment below if you want to come to Dinner & Data with Serena! 
[UPDATE: Only 4 seats left after this post was up for 2 hours. Thank you for those who commented/DM to express interest!]  

⚡ It's super refreshing to see a Data & AI conference highlighting MANY accomplished female speakers, I can't wait to attend the sessions by my new and old friends: Kate Strachnyi Kristen Kehrer Veronika Durgin Christina Stathopoulos, MSc and hope you'll join me too! 

💰 Save 25% when you register with my promocode: DUNYSPEAKERREFERRAL https://lnkd.in/eKX3zfbf

When LinkedIn calls you and asks if you'd like to create a series of courses on People Analytics, you say YES!  

That was 2 years ago. 

After 6 months of nonstop writing on weekends and intense recording days, I launched this course as the first in the series of 3 courses. I can't believe we are close to 20K learners for this first course! To celebrate, I'm giving you FREE access. Do check it out and re-share if 

↳You work in HR and would like a new in-demand skill on your LinkedIn profile (You earn "People Analytics" skill from completion) 

↳You work in data and your organization doesn't have a people analytics function but you are curious!

↳You work in people analytics and you've got a new colleague who can benefit!

What recent learners said: 
"I found the content insightful and practical, tailored perfectly for navigating the fintech industry's demands. Your emphasis on ethical data use and real-world applications resonated deeply, providing valuable tools and insights for strategic decision-making. Your approachable teaching style made complex concepts accessible, even for those less familiar with data science. Overall, your course has equipped me with actionable knowledge that will undoubtedly enhance my effectiveness in driving organizational success through people analytics. "

 #peopleanalytics 

No more gatekeeping. 
If you want to level up in front of an audience, try these tips from a professional keynote speaker:


1️⃣ Practice your speech...in the bathroom in front of a mirror🪞
↳ The bathroom acoustics help you project your voice, and the mirror lets you see your gestures. 
↳ You don't need to memorize the whole talk. Make sure you internalize your content so you can focus on the audience, NOT your slides.

2️⃣ Wear clothes that make you feel confident and when in doubt go a size UP. Your audience thanks you. 👖 
↳ A simple secret weapon for confidence is not fearing wardrobe malfunction on stage. 

3️⃣ Listen to music that amps you up before getting on stage so you are fully ready! 🎶 
↳ Mine is unstoppable by Sia, can anyone relate?!  

4️⃣ Tell a Story - don't bore your audience with data! 📊
↳ Yes, I know - I'm a data person too but I also know people connect with stories that evoke emotions (NOT tons of boring data).

5️⃣ Be honest. If you don't know the answer to a question asked during Q&A. 🎤 
↳ It's ok to tell them you'll get back to them after some research - and make sure you do. 
↳ Much better for your credibility than saying the wrong thing confidently to a huge crowd!    

Drop a 🔥 emoji if you're ready to become a top speaker using these tips. 

Data With Serena™️ #OneThingToKnow #PublicSpeaking

Data With Serena™️ has arrived and ready for the Chicago Databricks Data Intelligence Day! 

If you are here come say hi - I’m sitting in the front, as always. 

Super excited for today: 
After this learning session I’m headed to meet new friends at my ☕️ Coffee With Serena series and 🎤 speaking about AI at the Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide Annual Conference! 

#networking

Attention NYC: Please have nice weather next week because Data With Serena™️ + almost all of the DataVengers will be in town at the HOTTEST Data & AI Conference of 2024. 

I've kept this quiet but I've been helping a few clients implement AI at scale and you don't want to miss my talk on 4/11 with practical lessons learned. 

If you are interested in coming to my talk and your company has no learning budget for you - comment below for a conference pass as my guest. 

You'll also want to check out talks from Christina Stathopoulos, MSc George Firican SCOTT TAYLOR Veronika Durgin Kate Strachnyi Kristen Kehrer Jordan Morrow!  
 
Ps. The Dinner & Data With Serena™️ event on 4/9 already has a WAITLIST - and between all the dinner attendees we've got 300K+ followers on LinkedIn. 😍 Pics to come...

What is it like to be at the hottest AI & Data conference?!

Check out the video and find out. 

My favorite quote from the conference: 

“Everything qualititave becomes quantitative”

Isn’t that true?! Since genAI took over the world what used to be qualitative is now easily quantifiable and understood…!

So many highlights, from hanging out with Kate Strachnyi SCOTT TAYLOR Christina Stathopoulos, MSc Kristen Kehrer Jordan Morrow George Firican to catching up with Sonali Kumar Rachel Weiss Cindi Howson Douglas Laney… and Starburst hosted a lovely happy hour Adrian Estala. 

If you were at Data Universe, what’s your favorite moment?! Data With Serena™️

Thank you to the mystery giver who sent me this wonderful book as a gift! 

Your Amazon note did not contain your name so I cannot properly thank you in private so here we go and I hope you see this message!! 

With gratitude,
Serena 🙏🏼 

Data With Serena™️

What I learned from growing my LinkedIn community from 4K to 16K:


Give more and you’ll receive more.
↳ Your content should provide immediate value to your target audience. I’ve been surprised by how many clients came my way because of the content I give here (for free). 

Your personal brand belongs to you. 
↳ Your manager or employer cannot take that away. In times of uncertainty and layoffs, take the time to invest in YOU. It’ll take effort but it’ll be worth it!

Comparison is the thief of joy. Just don’t do it. 
↳ There will be bigger accounts and more “successful” people in your niche on LinkedIn. Instead of wondering why you aren’t there, focus on what you can learn from them. 

If you want more help, reach out for 1:1 coaching or sign up for my LinkedIn workshop. And if you just don’t have the time or simply don’t want to bother, I can take over your LinkedIn and do it for you. 🚀 Let’s gooooo! 

Data With Serena™️

What's your definition of success? 


For years, I measured mine by superficial metrics - a prestigious job title, a big team and budget to manage, appearing on industry "lists", driving a luxury car, and relentless productivity. 

Now I realize the real flex is:

✔️Having the freedom to spend quality time with loved ones, like snuggling my puppy, whenever I want.

✔️Getting paid to do work that genuinely energizes and fulfills me - like creating content and speaking on big stages. 

✔️Having enough options to confidently say "NO" to any opportunity that doesn't excite me or having to prove my worth to people who don’t see it. (See my other post about how I keep my rates high Data With Serena™️.)

Success is about living life on your terms, prioritizing what truly matters, and pursuing authentic FULFILLMENT over shallow VALIDATIONS. 

It's an inside job, not chasing external status symbols.

What's your idea of success these days? 
Share below and let’s redefine what it means to "make it."

Data With Serena™️ lands in Charlotte! 

Looking forward to the Coffee & Data With Serena tomorrow. 🤗

My heart is so happy rn 😃 

A super fun Coffee & Data With Serena™️ in Charlotte with Sonny Rivera Adrienne Hua Matt Brooks 🏳️‍🌈 talking about data and AI!

🤗❤️🥰 What are YOU doing today to make your heart happy?!

Today is World Health Day. 


In case you didn’t know - I am lucky to be alive after a challenging 2022 and I no longer take my health for granted. I am celebrating by kicking off the day with a workout! 
 
One of my key focus areas in Q2 is physical health, which I’ve come to realize is closely connected to mental health. 

Do you have tips for staying healthy?? Share with us in comments below. Data With Serena™️

Pro Tips for Networking at Conferences:


As someone who is approaching 200 speaking engagements since COVID, I’ve been to tons of events at this point. 

One topic I’ve not touched on as much is how to network as a data nerd at conferences. Let me know which tips resonate with you and share your favorite tips with us! 

1. Map out a few targets beforehand 
↳ Check their LinkedIn profile and research for smart conversation starters!

2. Dress for success:
↳ Wear something confidence-boosting and comfortable (if you can’t rock 4” 👠 normally, this is not the time to practice.)

3. Have a memorable (but not boring) elevator pitch 
↳ Don’t sound rehearsed in your 30 sec description of what you offer! 

↳ Have at least 3 versions of this so you can tailor it to the person you meet 

4. Connect with SPEAKERS  
↳ Show genuine interest on their topic/background and actually go to their talk to learn or cheer them on! 

5. Follow up immediately - NOT with an ask 
↳ Connect on LinkedIn (cuz who has cards anymore?!) and follow up after your chat with something specific from the convo. 

 ↳ That’s not a typo. My personal rule is to NOT ask someone for anything within the first three interactions. Asks = referal for a job/gig, intro to someone influential they know, set up meeting to see a demo, endorse/promote/recommend a book/product/service, etc. 

↳ If they ask me if there’s anything they can do to help, that’s different. But I aim to get to know the person way before asking for anything. 

You got this!! 
Go crush it at your next conference! 

For those coming to my talk in NYC on Thursday, let’s connect. ☺️ 

Data With Serena™️

Data With Serena™️ is caffeinated and ready to learn from fantastic speakers today and so happy to finally meet Solomon Kahn IRL!

Find me at morning networking and happy hour TODAY if you are at Data Universe and catch me on this main stage closing us out TOMORROW with “The Double-Edged Sword of AI in the Corporate World” at 3:30p!

Taplio

Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.'s Linkedin Analytics